After the game, Collins spoke about playing steady defense for 11 minutes as the backup center in the Nets’ 108-102 win over the Lakers.

“The most important thing was the team got the win,” he said. “That’s all I’ve ever cared about. I don’t care about scoring. I care about my team winning and helping my teammates get open and making their jobs easier.”

The sky didn’t rain fire. The Staples Center court didn’t split down the middle and expose the earth’s core. Jack Nicholson didn’t spontaneously apologize for making Man Trouble in the early ’90s.

It was just a regular night of basketball. And Collins was just a regular basketball player.

Collins has always been a role player in the NBA. That’s been his job for 12 years. It was his job before he announced he was gay and it’s his job after as well. Collins is just a guy doing his job. That’s all he wants out of this experience. The Nets have given him a 10-day contract to prove himself a capable basketball player. That’s all that matters to him.

“Right now I’m focused on trying to learn the plays, trying to learn the coverages of the game-plan assignment,” Collins said. “I don’t have time to really think about history right now. I just have time to focus on my job tonight.”

Collins isn’t trying to push an agenda or make history right now. He’s a well-adjusted intellectual who just wants to do the best job he can. There aren’t any strings attached or ulterior motives. He’s a man trying to make a living. Collins has the next nine days to prove that he belongs on an NBA roster. Being gay or being straight isn’t going to help or hurt the task at hand. However, his ability to beat people up in the paint and keep his teammates in check on defense will have a great impact on whether he remains.

A decade from now, Collins’ perspective will likely have shifted. He’ll acknowledge the groundbreaking step he took on Sunday. The significance of the game is still very real to the rest of us to be sure. Jason Collins made history last night and he didn’t really care.

Today’s big winner:Jason Collins 35-year-old Jason Collins became the first openly gay player to play a (…)

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